


Boom goes the dynamite

by xTheBlackAngelx



Series: LadyNoir July 2k17: Friendship Style, mostly. [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bantering, Day 3, Friendship, Gen, LadyNoir July 2k17, Pining, a little bit, a month later because why not, couldn't help myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 08:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11848194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xTheBlackAngelx/pseuds/xTheBlackAngelx
Summary: Once again the night is interrupted by an akuma attack. It's hard to fall asleep with explosions going off all around the city.





	Boom goes the dynamite

**Author's Note:**

> Second instalment of the series. Skipped day 2, because I had no idea how to make it just that.

It’s another evening in Paris, the sun set hours before. All was peaceful, except the regular sounds of the night like cars and people and of course the sounds of explosions. Wait, that doesn’t seem right. What city has regular explosives going off at night? Well, maybe having a super villain does that to a city. Papillon’s latest minion was girl in a muted orange jumpsuit, brown jacket with pockets full of explosives, combat boots and a safety helmet. She also wore a duffle bag over her shoulder, though the contents haven’t been revealed as of yet.

She’s one of the deadlier akumas so far, spreading property damage to all, though she seems focused on new building sites, blowing them up methodically one by one. Thankfully, because of this our heroes can predict her movements and evacuate people, maybe even trying to save the sites as well. Chat Noir and Ladybug were trying to stay ahead of this villain, splitting up to cover more ground. So far there were no casualties, though they haven’t been able to save any of the sites and some of the collateral damage has injured people, thankfully none were deadly, yet. It seems like our heroes were in for another long night, this time fighting _Le Bombeur_. She was jumping around, occasionally throwing a bomb in a random direction, forcing Ladybug or Chat to take a detour and risk letting her out of their sights. But now, let’s check on their progress, shall we?

* * *

 

 

Adrien and Ladybug were getting tired. She wasn’t saying anything about it, trying to hide it, but after months of being her partner, he knew better. He was pretty sure she was a student, maybe not his age, but a student none the less. She must have schoolwork to complete. They both can’t afford missing sleep. _Though, it’s not like it’s a choice really. No matter what, Ladybug will come to the rescue of Paris and I’ll follow._ Le Bombeur chose that moment to throw a bomb at a nearby park, filled with pedestrians that didn’t get the memo. Adrien dove towards it, catching it in his hand and chucking it in the air. Thanks to his enhanced strength, it flew well enough away from any buildings and was ultimately harmless, though the shockwave did rattle some of the people that were closer. Making sure that everyone was okay, he went to the next building site, mapped on his baton.

It was always strange when he had to jump over rooftops and streets without his Lady at the corner of his or anywhere near him. She was currently en route to the other side of Paris, evacuating as many people as she could. He just had the bad luck of running into Le Bombeur. _We’re pretty much playing a game of cat and mouse and it seems like this mouse doesn’t mind being hunted. She’s entirely focused on her task of bombing these building sites._ While she got a lead thanks to her distraction, Adrien was able to catch up quickly enough, trying to get her off course either through talking or trying to attack.

\- You know, we never formally introduced ourselves. I feel like you have a bombastic personality and that may complement mine. They say I’m quite the cat’s meow. – Adrien added a wink and a smirk for good measure. It didn’t seem like she was very amused if the thrown grenade was anything to go by. Deflecting it into the sky and away from civilians, he continued his attempts at slowing her down or distracting her. – Ok, not much of a fan. Though you certainly have a fiery personality and make an explosive impression. – _Okay, that may be pushing it, just a little_.

\- I don’t have time for your games Chat Noir! – Said Le Bombeur, stopping and turning around, glaring at him. – The city needs to pay for destroying historical buildings just to build malls, stores and expensive condos! These houses have been here way longer than the mayor has even lived and yet they’re disposed of so flippantly! – Her shoulders tensed, shaking. _Ah, I see. That’s why she’s destroying the building sites._

\- But those buildings were a safety hazard! Letting people live in them was dangerous, plus the mayor has assured that residents of the old buildings will get a discount on the purchase! And if some can’t afford to pay rent if it went up, they get a couple months of the same price, so they can sort it out, with no tax. – The mayor had promised that live, in front of cameras. _If he backs out of it, there’s no way he can get re-elected, the people won’t let him get away with it._ His words seem to have aggravated her even more.

\- It doesn’t matter what he said! He’s demolishing over 3 dozen buildings and plans to destroy even more! All that history and architecture would be lost! We must preserve it! – To prove her point she turned around, set on destroying the next site. Before she could, Adrien attacked her, intent on at least getting her jacket and bag. While she was trying to dodge, Adrien managed to hit her in the side, knocking her down the street. She hit the ground hard, skidding along the ground. Stopping on a nearby roof, Adrien used the chance to call Ladybug.

\- Buginette! You’re a sight for sore eyes, I’ve deprived of your radiance for too long. –She rolled her eyes, but her small smile was all he needed to grin wider. – Okay, okay, I do actually have a reason to call you. I’ve run into our explosive friend and managed to hit her off course.

\- Okay Chat, I’m coming towards you, just keep her distracted. You’re good at that. – At that she looked at him, still with that small smile. _Is she trying to kill me?_

\- Why, I’m flattered that you find my presence distracting. – Adding a wink for good measure, trying to get his composure back. That girl would kill him some day. _It would be a happy death though_.

\- Kitty, you there? – At her concerned tone he came back to the present. He checked on Le Bombeur, seeing her slowly standing up, taking in her surroundings. _Huh, she’s pretty fragile if that attack kept her out for so long._

\- Alas, I must cut our chat short, Sleeping Beauty is awakening. – Her snort before she hung up is all he needed to get back into the fight, though seeing her symbol on the GPS coming closer also helped. Turning towards Papillon’s latest minion, - Did you have a nice nap? Though I think sleeping on the ground isn’t good for your back. – At the sound of his voice, she turned towards him, reaching for her front pocket.

Holding the grenade tight, she was getting ready to throw it. In that moment, before Adrien could pounce, a familiar whir was heard through the streets, coming from the left and Le Bombeur’s raised hand was caught in a black string string, ending with a spotted yo-yo. Ladybug was standing on a roof in the blind side of the akuma, pulling the string of her yo-yo, trying to unsteady her.

He should be helping, he should try to find the possessed item and he would, he just needed a moment. There was just something about Ladybug in that moment, as if all the months of partnership and tentative friendship flashed before his eyes, reminding him _why_ he was infatuated with her. He suddenly felt as if it happened all over again. His insides felt like they just exploded. His face felt warm, his limbs tingled, tail twitching from side to side, eyes locked on her. Seeing her face scrunch up broke the staring spell and he remembered where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Shaking his head, he jumped down, running to the akuma. He stopped a safe distance away, her wild thrashing nearly hitting him. There wasn’t anything popping out on her costume. Everything blended together.

\- Chat. Do. You. See anything? – The thrashing of Le Bombeur was picking up pace, Ladybug giving it her all to hold steady. _Her moving about doesn’t make it easy to look her over._

 - She’s moving too much to properly look and my night vision makes it kind of hard to differentiate, but nothing looks out of place. – As if that was a critique on her thrashing, she doubled her efforts, intent on getting away. Or attacking him. Her glare was pretty severe. – Whoa there, would you mind stopping your attempts at hitting me? I know you can’t resist this, but my heart is set on someone else. – That made her angrier. _Okay, not the_ _best idea_.

\- Chat! Are you trying to get skinned? – She seemed to be struggling. _So she’s fragile, but she’s pretty strong._ – Chat! Take her! – As soon as the string unwound, he pounced, pinning her. – Lucky Charm! – As he looked up, he saw Ladybug catch a small can-like object. In his distraction Le Bombeur almost got him, luckily, he ducked away in time and avoided a headbutt. Unluckily, that gave Le Bombeur enough wiggle room to get her hands free and go for an explosive.

– CHAT! RUN!

_No need to tell me twice._ Le Bombeur used this to throw the dynamite towards Ladybug. – LADYBUG! - The cry tearing out of his throat, cracking at the end.

To his horrified surprise, she didn’t move a centimetre. She just threw the can-like object towards the dynamite. When they hit, smoke fell on the akuma. Suddenly she started coughing, eyes tearing up. _Is that tear gas? Wait, that smell, is it pepper?_ His Lady threw a pepper container against dynamite.

She calmly jumped down, taking the akuma’s duffle bag. Moving towards a streetlight and he followed. – So, did the akuma say anything specific? Her motive perhaps?

\- Well, we had a truly thrilling conversation and she shared, while fuming, her anger at the city’s construction plans. – While he talked, Ladybug was looking through the bag. She seemed to have found the possessed item, face falling. She pulled out a book it seems. _What’s so special about it?_ As if reading his mind, she looked up towards him.

\- It’s a sketchbook. You see the shape and design? - Now that she mentioned it, it didn’t look like an ordinary book at all. It was also very worn. She grabbed either side and ripped it in half, black butterfly flying out. Quickly she captured it, cleansed it and cast her Miraculous Cure. The damage was reversed, injuries healed and sketchbook restored. Ladybug started flipping through it. Her shoulders slumped, lips pulled down, eyebrows lowered. After a minute, she spoke.

– It’s full of sketches and finished drawings of these old buildings. The first ones are pretty undetailed and coloured strangely. As you flip through, the sketches start getting more detailed and the drawings start blending the colours beautifully. Some are just of the chosen building, others have people in them. They’re either random passersby or people purposefully posing. They all seem to appear at least twice, but this old lady here, - she turned the sketchbook towards him and pointed, – she appears the most. Always smiling, looking towards the girl behind the book. But, after a while, she disappears. The drawings change too. Before, it was always a sunny day, light shining on the building and the sketches are clean, neat, almost like lineart, but after the lady disappears, the sketches start getting messy and after a while of no drawings, they return with darker colours, drawn during rain, snow, night. All the warmth is gone.

Her voice is soft, small. Frame slightly hunching. Then, she brightens a little. _It’s not much, but at least she doesn’t look so sad. I don’t want to see her like this. No, I don’t want to_ not _be there while she’s like this. I want to be able to comfort her, but how?_ He put his hand on her shoulder, mindful of boundaries. She leaned slightly into his touch, turning her head towards him and gracing him with a small smile.

– Anyway, after a while the warmth slowly reapers. The building at twilight or right before the sunrise. The sketches start to become cleaner again as well. Things seem to be looking up. – At that she chuckled bitterly. – The last one seems pretty recent and it’s the brightest one yet. It’s just after dawn, the sun shining down on the building. If you paid attention, you would notice that the building is the same as the one that the old lady first appeared in. Do you understand, chaton? – He did. He understood completely.

\- I didn’t think someone unrelated to it would get that much – A soft voce spoke up from behind, startling them. They turned a saw a girl, probably a few years older than Adrien. – Can, can I have my sketchbook back?

\- Of, of course! Here you go! – Ladybug’s voice rose higher than normal. After starring awkwardly at her, Ladybug squared her shoulders, set her eyebrows and walked towards the girl. She put her hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes. – Listen, I know you didn’t mean to do this. You were just upset; these places have history for you. They’re special for you. It’s okay to be upset, it’s normal. Papillon just took advantage of you and twisted your emotions into something ugly. But, that’s not _you_. You’re the girl who drew everything in this. – She held up the sketchbook for emphasis. – It’s filled with all your emotions, all your hard work. That’s something Papillon can’t take.

The girl stayed quiet during this, mouth dropped open at some point. Gaping, struck speechless, at Ladybug. And then, she started tearing up. Ladybug looked panicked for a second, but before she could do something, she was hugged, the girl sobbing onto her shoulder, talking incomprehensibly, though he could pick up quite a bit of “Thank you”s. His Lady hugged her back, rubbing circles on her back, muttering assurances.

He might have to retract his earlier thoughts. What he felt when he saw her couldn’t compare with what he felt now. Those feelings from before returned with a vengeance, at the very least double in intensity. His insides _really_ felt like bursting. He fell for her because of her bravery, standing up despite her fears and rising up to the challenge. He’s seen her being insecure, fierce, determined, worried, happy, smug, proud, but he hasn’t seen the full extent of her kindness, of her empathy. Until now. This was another facet of her he’s glimpsed before. But now he had a front row seat. And he fell. Again. Hard. He felt as if fireworks were going off inside him. He continued starring at her, mulling over his new revelation, feeling like he got closer to her.

And the moment was ruined when a very insistent beep sounded off. _Oh, right. She used Lucky Charm, though why didn’t it warn her sooner? Wait, did we manage to ignore it?_

* * *

  
And so, after Ladybug scrambled and made sure the girl, whose name was Zoé, though our heroes didn’t know that, was okay, she quickly exchanged a celebratory fist bump with a slightly dazed Chat Noir and hurried on home, leaving him to escort the latest victim. After making sure she was okay one last time, he bound away, heading to his house, still thinking about his discovery. And that’s how the day ends for our heroes.


End file.
